


Counting Stars

by Grundy



Series: First Age [21]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Amon Ereb, First Age, Gen, Third Kinslaying aftermath, raising peredhil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 11:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12298752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grundy/pseuds/Grundy
Summary: Elros and Elrond growing up in Amon Ereb in the care of the Fëanorions. Maedhros and Maglor are doing the best they can.





	Counting Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [erlkoenig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/erlkoenig/gifts).



“I hope they will like them.”

Makalaurë laughed, a sound that was not so rare these days as it had been a few short years ago.

“You have fussed more over these begetting day gifts more than any others I can recall,” he said, laying a reassuring hand on his older brother’s shoulder. “I am sure they will like them. They are children, and not terribly difficult to please.”

“ _Birthday_ ,” Maedhros replied firmly. “Both have been quite clear on that point.”

Makalaurë sighed.

“I have told them several times that it is the Atani who celebrate the day of their birth, we elves celebrate the day of our begetting.”

“And what did Elrond say to that?” Maedhros asked, giving his last living brother the look that has always meant ‘you are in a hole, little brother, and should stop digging.’

“Nothing,” Makalaurë replied with a frown.

“Odd. With me, he was quite clear – tomorrow is their birthday, they do not have a begetting day.”

Makalaurë frowned.

“But,” he began, only to stop abruptly. “You do not suppose they truly do not know their begetting day?”

“I do not suppose anything,” Maedhros said sharply. “I am certain they do not know it. I asked Elrond where he got the word, and he told me they put together the words ‘birth’ and ‘day’ because they did not know the proper Quenya for it and ‘day of my birth’ or ‘day of our birth’ was awkward to keep saying. The word they used in Sirion is not a native Sindarin word, but seems to have been borrowed from Taliska. It is similar enough to recognize the root easily. It is not a word most elves would know, least of all a pair of young children.”

“Meaning what?” Makalaurë asked.

“Meaning that the Sindar in Sirion needed the word for the boys, and must have learned it from the Atani they traded with. And they only possible reason they would need that word is if Elwing did _not_ know her children’s begetting day.”

Makalaurë blinked.

“Does that mean they are Men?” he asked hesitantly.

“I doubt it,” Maedhros replied. “From what I’ve seen of children of Men, they grow much faster than Elwing’s twins.”

“They are still rather tall for seven,” Makalaurë said worriedly.

“They are mannish in some small part,” Maedhros shrugged, “so perhaps they grow a bit faster than normal. But it’s just as likely that they’ve inherited their height from Thingol or Turukano. Or both. I wouldn’t fret over it.”

“Have you run your strange theory past Glinwen?” Makalaurë asked. “Would she not be able to explain their odd insistence on the mannish word?”

“She is too young to be privy to any details of the twins’ begetting, particularly if Elwing was unaware of it,” Maedhros said. “Besides, she has heard them discussing their upcoming day and _not_ taken issue with their choice of word, so it is clearly one that seems sensible to her. If you are unwilling to humor the boys, at least humor me- it’s their _birthday_ , end of.”

Makalaurë sighed.

“Very well, though if they are not mannish, it seems silly to insist on not calling it _begetting day_ ,” he grumbled.

“It would be sillier to insist on them calling the day something it is not,” Maedhros replied, “and besides, it upsets them that people do not call it what it is.”

He finished tying a bow very carefully on the top package of the ‘Elrond’ stack.

For once, the boys were not being given identical everything. It had been Maedhros’ notion originally, but everyone else had seen the logic in it when he pointed out that unlike Ambarussa, who had nearly always been of one mind in their interests and opinions, the Eärendilion twins had their own separate enthusiasms and ought to be encouraged to develop them.

There would, of course, be their favorite dishes served at meal times, but the real excitement was likely to be the special trip planned – they would get to go on an outing beyond the walls of Amon Ereb, to a stream not far away, where Elros’ fondness for boats and Elrond’s for observing nature could be indulged with the help of some of the local Laiquendi.

That those same Laiquendi would probably pass on news of the twins to Sindarin scouts afterward was not a drawback as far as Maedhros was concerned. He had been surprised at the lack of further protest from Balar at his letter declining to send the twins to Gil-Galad, but he did not doubt that Amon Ereb was being carefully observed from a safe distance, and not only by spies of Morgoth.

\---

Elros was the first awake in the morning – and had been the last child asleep as well, Makalaurë knew.

He could tell the boy was awake by the excited squeal and call for Elrond to wake up, for they had _presents!_

He and Maedhros took that as their cue to enter the twins’ room.

Both children were happily exploring the small stacks that had been left on the chests at the foot of their beds.

Elrond would have been perfectly content to stop after pulling the wrapping from his very first package, which contained several books, one of which Maedhros had written and bound specially for him.

Elros, meanwhile had made short work of his stack, and was gleefully trying to manipulate his child-sized block and tackle with one hand while keeping his other arm firmly around the stuffed toy eagle he had christened Daeroval. If he’d had a third hand, he would likely have also been trying to ‘sail’ the intricate model ship that would no doubt shortly assume pride of place on his shelves in the twins’ shared sitting room.

“Elrond, you haven’t opened all your presents!” he protested when he saw his brother settling in for what could easily turn into an all-day reading session. “You still have more!”

With a slight huff, Elrond set his books to one side and carefully unwrapped his next package, a stuffed animal. He gazed at it in some puzzlement.

“What is it?” he asked, looking to his cousins for an answer.

“It is an otter,” Makalaurë answered. “They live in rivers and the sea. Have you not seen one before?”

The otter had been his idea, for he had expected that children of Sirion would have been familiar with them. Most elves were fond of the curious, engaging creatures, and Tyelpë had adored them as a child.

Elrond shook his head, but seemed quite taken with the soft ‘fur’ and amused ‘face’ all the same.

“No,” he said. “But that does not matter. I like him very much all the same. I shall call him Lalaith, he looks like he has just heard a good joke.”

“Perhaps you will see a real one soon,” Maedhros said.

His older brother might not be the performer Makalaurë was, but he had enough experience with children to get just the right mix of mystery and promise for both boys to perk up with interest.

“We will be going on a trip later today,” Makalaurë announced.

“To a river?” Elrond asked immediately, his eyes lighting up.

Maedhros smiled.

“More a stream than a river, but yes,” he said. “You still have a present, I see. Then we shall go down to breakfast, where I imagine Glinwen is waiting to wish you a happy birthday also.”

Elrond obediently opened the last present in his stack, which was not new, but something Makalaurë had decided the boy would like all the same – a tapestry from Miriel’s own hands of the royal garden in Tirion. It was the mate to the hanging of the Trees which Elrond often admired in the corridor, which would also someday be his.

His expression of delight turned troubled almost at once.

“Is this not too fine to hang in here where only Elros and I will see it?” he asked fretfully.

Maedhros smiled reassuringly.

“It has been packed away for many years, little one,” he said. “It will be seen and admired in here, as it was not in the storage rooms!”

Makalaurë tried not to sigh. He knew perfectly well Elrond would not appreciate the significance of the gift for many years yet, for he knew little of Tirion and less of Miriel, let alone how remarkable it was that any of her works should have survived their travels from Aman to this out of the way stronghold of last resort.

“It pleases the rest of Amon Ereb to know that you are happy, young one,” Makalaurë assured him. “And they have seen how fond you are of such bright colors and nature scenes. It is up to you where to hang it, but no one will begrudge you having it in here if that is what you wish.”

More to the point, every elf in the fortress knew how little of the trappings of the once proud House of Finwë remained to pass on to their youngest princes. The rest of the gifts were signs of love, but bequeathing the twins those heirlooms they still had to offer was a point of pride.

\---

As they returned to the fortress for dinner, the twins were thoroughly tired and extremely pleased with their day.

Maedhros was thankful it had gone peacefully – he had certainly had enough guards out to ensure that it would be, but one never knew. But he didn’t wish to keep the boys cooped up in the fortress constantly. They needed the chance to see something of the land they lived in, and to try things one couldn’t very well do in a castle.

Learning their way around boats, for instance. It had been something of a surprise, but Elrond had been just as excited by the chance to try out the small craft the Laiquendi hollowed out of the trunks of fallen trees as his brother was. Under the careful eyes of their guides, each boy had gotten the chance to paddle a bit for himself.

Elros had been disappointed to discover that making the boat go, even on a fairly calm pond, was not so easy as he had expected. Laegros, the leader of the Laiquendi, had spoken to Maedhros after and suggested that if there was a similar outing in future, bark-boats would be easier for small boys. He had hinted that the boys should be able to manage those entirely on their own.

Elrond had been utterly thrilled to spot not only several otters, but also beaver, hawks, various diving and wading birds, and a variety of lizards.

Both boys had enjoyed the ride to and from the small stream, although at different paces – Elros had been permitted to try a trot instead of just a walk, to his delight, while Elrond had been happy to go slowly but on his own pony the entire time.

Elros had also, for a wonder, returned dry and _mostly_ clean.

Dinner was almost too much. The boys’ favorite dishes were served, but it was dessert that was the special moment.

The cake, when it arrived, was brought by Glinwen. (With some help from one of the senior kitchen nissi.) A small tiered stack of stars had been topped with berries and icing sugar, and illuminated by small candles letting off a shower of silver sparkles. Maedhros wasn’t entirely sure how the effect was achieved, only that Nyellië had assured him that it would look enchanting in the darkened hall and would not be dangerous.

The boys’ huge eyes and impressed exclamations were all anyone could have hoped for. That the twins got only a small slice each once the cake was divided up among everyone in the hall didn’t seem to bother them at all.

 ---

By the time they tucked two thoroughly exhausted but happy elflings into bed clutching their new stuffed animals, Maedhros and Makalaurë were ready to call it a night themselves.

Maedhros lingered in the doorway, watching the sleeping young ones.

Makalaurë didn’t fuss, knowing it was his older brother’s routine. Even if he had put the children to bed himself, it reassured him to know they were sleeping safely and quietly. He often checked on Glinwen as well.

“Did we spoil them, do you think? Was it too much?” Makalaurë asked quietly.

 Maedhros snorted.

“When we were young, this would have been considered paltry,” he pointed out. “A few small things, a boat ride, and a cake. Your second begetting day was a bigger occasion.”

“You know what I meant,” Makalaurë said reproachfully.

“I would rather do what I can for them now,” Maedhros replied quietly. “To give them what normal times are possible. Very little stands between us and Morgoth. Who knows how much longer it will be safe enough to take them on such outings – or to keep them here at all?”

 

 


End file.
